“Slum Beautiful”: St. Louis Is Only Part of the Story
July 10, 2012 § 1 Comment
This past week The Daily Mail featured a photo essay by St. Louis photographer Demond Meek entitled “Slum Beautiful” in which the artist chronicled some of the city’s abandoned buildings and crumbling lots. In the article, “City of Ghosts,” Meek told the Daily Mail, “I wanted to focus on the buildings that were once considered beautiful or treasures- a few that could be fixed up with a little bit of love.”
Fasten Your Rustbelt: Jay Williams Talks Cities (audio)
April 23, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Get Growing
April 5, 2012 § Leave a Comment
While working at the United Nations, I’ve grown accustomed to celebrating diverse (and sometimes odd) international days and commemorations (Happy World Day for Laboratory Animals!). But when I was alerted that April was National Garden Month here in the US, I was all too eager to jump on board and celebrate one of my favorite Midwest gardening organizations — St. Louis’s Gateway Greening.
The Other Bracketology: the Race for #SoMeT12
March 30, 2012 § Leave a Comment
As I write this, Cleveland is less than an hour away from pulling off a comeback win against Kansas City in the first round of the Social Media Tourism Symposium’s (SoMeT12) “March Madness”-style bracket. Being a Clevelander, I am, of course, blindly promoting the city as the venue for this year’s symposium—hence the jabs at those Kansas Citians (yes, that is the correct demonym) on the other side of the Internet. Sorry guys, tough loss.
But Cleveland is not the only Rustbelt city involved in this tournament: Buffalo and St. Louis have already moved on to the second round, while Milwaukee will be taking on Lehigh Valley, PA tomorrow. What does it mean that out of a field of 16 competitors, four of them are Rustbelt cities that will be featured in our second Midwest Sustainable Cities Symposium this September?
Better Block of Dallas
May 24, 2011 § Leave a Comment
It’s true, Dallas isn’t in the Midwest. But Better Block is an idea that can be implemented anywhere. And it has… in St. Louis and Tulsa, to name just two place closer to home. It starts with an ugly block. It ends with a vibrant community.
